Still Got Me
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day five hundred and fifty-one: Puck and Santana may be fine leaving Artie behind after their dinner, but Brittany can't do it.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 26th cycle. Now cycle 27!_

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><p><strong>"Still Got Me"<br>Artie/Brittany  
>Prequel to "Quite the Rock Star" <strong>

She and Santana had done this before… the dine and dash. It wasn't so much that this was a big deal to her, even if she knew it probably wasn't right, but it was something they did… So when they started getting up, she didn't really question it anymore, she started to follow.

But then she watched, as Puck went by and caught Artie leaving the cash after all, she listened. Artie was trying to do the right thing. More than that, what he told Puck about the waitress gave her a bad feeling at the pit of her stomach, like shame.

When Puck came back and the three of them went through the door, her feet stopped. Puck and Santana stopped, too, turning back to look at her. "What's wrong?" Santana asked. She couldn't lie; she would know.

"I'm going back, to wait with Artie."

"Why?" Santana asked, confused.

"He shouldn't have to stay on his own, it's not fair."

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself," Santana insisted.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Brittany maintained.

"Come on," Puck told Santana, leading her off by the shoulder, though she was still staring back at Brittany, surprised that she would stay. Once she'd seen them head off, Brittany went back inside the restaurant. Artie was still at the table, with his phone in his hand, dialling. As she approached, she watched him put the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Dad. Yeah, I'm done, can you come pick me up? Thanks." As he hung up, Brittany walked around into his line of sight. For a split second, he'd been going back into his disappointment, but then he saw her, and he sat up, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you left with Puck and…"

"I couldn't leave you like this; it wasn't fair," she explained, sitting by his side. "Besides, I had fun tonight, with you," she smiled, and then so did he.

"I did too," he told her, then, realizing her ride was gone, "My father and I can drop you off home," he offered her, and she nodded. They made their way outside the restaurant, with Artie stopping his chair next to the bench where Brittany sat. "How's it going with your mash-up?" he ended up asking her.

"Good," she smiled, trying not to reveal too much. "Wait until you see what we've got. It's going to be pretty awesome," she spoke so confidently, now he was curious, but she didn't look like she would say any further. "What about you?"

"We're working on it," he shrugged. "The guys are having a bit more trouble getting in touch with the 'other side' with the girls' songs."

"It's easy," she shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're a girl," he pointed out, then shrugged off the topic. If he was going to have some one on one time with Brittany, maybe he shouldn't waste it… "I'm glad you came with me tonight."

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked.

"Well, I did break up with you," he reminded her, and she didn't respond. "Except lately I've been thinking… about you, and us, and… I think maybe I should have listened to my gut." Brittany looked down, then back up.

"What did it say?"

"Not to listen to Santana," he revealed. Her confusion there was understandable. She had no idea what had happened to even lead to their break-up. So instead he carried on to a part she would remember. "I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have broken up with you." She was not expecting this, and it only made her reaction more genuine. She smiled, oh, she smiled.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah," he repeated. "I know tonight was kind of one thing, with Puck, and Santana, but… I was hoping maybe you could give me another chance, start over. We never got a real shot, I… I'd really like that. What do you…"

He was interrupted by the honking of a car, and he almost choked on his tongue. He looked over and saw his father's car parked nearby, saw his father leaning forward so they could see him, waving at them. Brittany happily waved, naturally, while Artie tried not to look too disappointed with his timing. Mr. Abrams got out of the car and came over to them.

"Hey, Brittany, right?" he asked when he saw her, and she nodded.

"Is it okay if we drop her off on the way?" Artie asked his father.

"Oh, sure, right this way," he indicated the car. Once they had gotten in, with Artie and Brittany in the backseat and Mr. Abrams back at the wheel, they were off.

Artie thought for sure in that moment that his opportunity had gone by, that he'd missed his shot. She might not remember what he'd told her, might never get back to it, and… and he just couldn't bear the thought. As randomly as their relationship had started, and then ended, and now found the tiniest of sparks again, he knew they could be so much more if they got the chance to…

He felt something on his hand, the one that had been by his side… Something, actually, another hand… He looked back, startled, and saw Brittany had gone and slid her fingers into his palm. He looked at her, and she smiled. He wasn't sure what it meant, not completely, and being right there within earshot of his father, he didn't think it would be too wise to bring it up right then and there. So at least for now he closed his fingers over hers and held them there as they were making their way to her house.

As they neared the corner, she asked to be let out there. So Mr. Abrams stopped the car. "I think I left something in the trunk," he said out of nowhere and got out of the car, moving to the back and popping the trunk; they were alone, he couldn't see them… Artie could well have blushed of embarrassment, but this could wait. They were alone, he couldn't see them… He reached over and unclipped Brittany's seatbelt, and she moved closer to him on, away from the passenger side window. He looked at their hands, still joined, and he gave a light squeeze.

"So, you want to try again?" he asked her, and she nodded. "Are you sure?" he had to ask, and she smiled before leaning in to kiss him, once, then twice, and just when he thought that was it, she kissed him a third time. If he wasn't secured by his own seatbelt, he just might have slid off his seat.

"Yes," she answered the question now, though as far as he was concerned, she'd already given him an answer, much clearer than one three-letter-word could ever do. He could have sat there and held her hand for so much longer, but he knew before long his father would 'find' the non-existent thing in the trunk. She must have sensed it too. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, and perhaps making the release of his hand go over a little smoother, she kissed him a fourth and final time that night before getting out of the car. He watched her go up the street, watched how giddy her steps now seemed, and he knew he had done that…

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>**********always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******** **


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